D&D (2024) Jeremy Crawford discusses what are the 2024 Fitfh Edition Core Rulebooks.

[Charlaquin]

Skyrim COULD support all the other prior games. In fact, there are rumors they're eventually going to release exactly that. Because most of the meaningful portions of all those games are the settings. And supporting five settings with one base game rule system is...not a big deal.

Nah, Morrowind in Skyrim's engine wouldn't be Morrowind. It might still be a great game in its own right (and indeed, if constant scope and feature creep doesn't prevent Skywind from ever being finished, I'd love to play it one day), Morrowind had a fantastic setting and story. But you can't separate games from their gameplay. Part of what Morrowind fans love about Morrowind is its systems, which would not work in Skyrim's engine.

 

[Charlaquin]

I too am in agreement & can provide an analogous example of going too slow, slow & steady has limits.

You don't even need to go outside gaming for an example. Call of Cthulu has barely changed since the 90s, and who plays that game? The same people who played it in the 90s. Meanwhile, Candela Obscura looks to do a way better job of being Call of Cthulu than Call of Cthulu did even in its heyday.

 

[Vaalingrade]

I think anyone who believed that was even possible was fooling themselves. Game design as a discipline is constantly evolving. If a game doesn't keep up, it'll get left behind.

People say they want it to be like Monopoly.

Well that's Monopoly. A thousand themed boxen and everyone buys one and plays it a few times in their life. Meanwhile people actually play Ticket to Ride, Catan, Pandemic and Sentinels and the enthusiasts have a rich, full buffet of hundreds of games a year.

Sad, but that's the fate people are cheering for.

 

[Charlaquin]

People say they want it to be like Monopoly.

Well that's Monopoly. A thousand themed boxen and everyone buys one and plays it a few times in their life. Meanwhile people actually play Ticket to Ride, Catan, Pandemic and Sentinels and the enthusiasts have a rich, full buffet of hundreds of games a year.

Sad, but that's the fate people are cheering for.

Exactly!!

 

[Parmandur]

Oh, gods no! I can't imagine a surer way to guarantee the industry leaves D&D behind than to make no major innovations for 50 years. OD&D still has a handful of players, as I'm sure 5e will in 2074, but the OSR wouldn't be relevant if not for the new games and design ideas that come out of it. Stagnation is death.

Who said "no innovations"? Slow, steady, carefully considered and tested innovations over time. I expect D&D will still be the major TTRPG in future decades, especially if they are slow and careful.

 

[Parmandur]

I think anyone who believed that was even possible was fooling themselves. Game design as a discipline is constantly evolving. If a game doesn't keep up, it'll get left behind.

Some extremely popular games haven't changed in hundreds or even thousands of years.

 

[Parmandur]

You don't even need to go outside gaming for an example. Call of Cthulu has barely changed since the 90s, and who plays that game? The same people who played it in the 90s. Meanwhile, Candela Obscura looks to do a way better job of being Call of Cthulu than Call of Cthulu did even in its heyday.

Call of Cthulu is one of the most popular and widely played RPGs...?

 

[John Lloyd1]

Call of Cthulu is one of the most popular and widely played RPGs...?

In this report it is more popular than Pathfinder:

The Orr Report Q4 2021 - Roll20 Blog

The last quarter of 2021 is in the books, and while we’re all focused on the future, here’s one final look back at tabletop roleplaying on Roll20 from last year. Lots of familiar faces in the Most Popular systems, with Dungeons & Dragons: 5th Edition, Call of Cthulhu, both Pathfinder editions...

blog.roll20.net

 

[darjr]

I think anyone who believed that was even possible was fooling themselves. Game design as a discipline is constantly evolving. If a game doesn't keep up, it'll get left behind.

Ten years is a long run. And if the video is any indication 2024 will be much like it too. Maybe.

 

[Parmandur]

In this report it is more popular than Pathfinder:

The Orr Report Q4 2021 - Roll20 Blog

The last quarter of 2021 is in the books, and while we’re all focused on the future, here’s one final look back at tabletop roleplaying on Roll20 from last year. Lots of familiar faces in the Most Popular systems, with Dungeons & Dragons: 5th Edition, Call of Cthulhu, both Pathfinder editions...

blog.roll20.net

And that is neither new or isolated data: CoC sells very well on Amazon, and frequently charts for FLGS metrics. It is one of the only RPGs my FLGS even stocks.